What a Birthday Can Bring
by owanaminapotter
Summary: It's finally Teddy's eleventh birthday and the only letter he is expecting is the acceptance notice from Hogwarts. He should know by now though, that with Harry Potter as his Godfather, expecting something normal is a pretty stupid idea indeed.


A/N: Soooooo, on this HP fansite I'm on there was this contest called the "Write a Letter to Teddy Lupin Contest" and I thought, "Hell, why not?" so I decided to go for it. When I finished the letter a little back-story popped into my mind and kept attacking me till I wrote it down. CURSE YOU, BUNNIES! Ahem.

Disclaimer: Same old, same old, I don't own the characters. I don't even really own the plot. It's pretty sad but there you go.

"_Happy Birthday Dear Teddy, Happy Birthday to you!"_

The crowd of friends and relatives cheered as Teddy Lupin, who had just turned eleven years old, puffed up his cheeks and blew out his candles with all his might. The poor sticks of wax didn't stand a chance against the hyper-active Metamorphmagus.

"And now, I'm officially eleven years old! WHOO!" he shouted, happily his yellow and crimson-coloured hair (for the occasion of course) flying about. To Teddy, a person never gained another year in his life until he blew out the birthday candles. Otherwise, it just didn't feel right.

"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart," said Andromeda Tonks, as she smothered Teddy in a bone-crushing hug. Andromeda was a tall and elderly woman with smooth spice-brown hair (streaked with grey now in her old age) and kind brown eyes. She was Teddy's grandmother and mother of his deceased mum Nymphadora Tonks (although, he was told, his mother would throttle anyone who dared to call her by her birth name). Teddy never knew his mother. Or his father, Remus Lupin, for that matter. They were both murdered in a battle that took place at Hogwarts around the time he was born. Ever since then, he'd been raised and nurtured by his grandmother; he was all Andromeda had left in her family, as her husband had perished not too long before her daughter had. Sometimes, Teddy wished he could remember his mother and father. But no matter how hard he tried, or how tightly he screwed up his eyes trying to remember, the memory of them was like a dream; distant, vague and seemingly unrealistic.

"Gramma! You're suffocating me!" Teddy exclaimed as he tried to wriggle out of his grandmother's vice-like hold.

"Let him breath, Andromeda." said Teddy's godfather, Harry Potter, as he laid a hand on Andromeda's shoulder. She reluctantly released him.

"I'm sorry, I just can't believe my little Teddy is finally eleven years old!" said Andromeda, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh yeah, you'll get your Hogwarts letter then?" said Ginny Potter from behind them, carrying two year old Lily on her hip. Four and three year old James and Albus were wrestling for a toy at Ginny's feet.

"Yeah!" said Teddy, hopping up and down in excitement "I already have it, actually. It's right there on top of my presents 'cause Gramma made me wait until my birthday so I can open it. I tried to sneak into her room to steal it so many times she had to put a charm on it so I couldn't see it!"

Ron Weasley's booming laughing reached their ears, his wife Hermione bouncing their daughter of three years, Rose, on her leg. Rose's younger brother Hugo was getting a piggyback ride from their father.

"Well, let's not keep you waiting then!" he said, throwing the envelope to Teddy who caught it with ease, looking positively ecstatic. When he tore the thing open and scanned the letter inside it, he simply glowed with glee at the thought that it was real; that he was actually a wizard and was going to go to Hogwarts to learn magic. He grew up with magic all around him of course, but it was such a different feeling knowing that he could someday do all the same spells, charms, and hexes that so enraptured him in his younger years.

After the Hogwarts letter, present after present was opened and Teddy exclaimed gleefully at everyone of them (although, sometimes it was a bit forced; it's quite hard to be thankful when you get a pile of rather misshapen woollen socks from Hermione on your eleventh birthday).He got spell books, a new gobstones and chess set, bundles of posters and merchandise of his favourite Quidditch team, the Falmouth Falcons; a whole load of prank items from George Weasley (complete with Dungbombs, Skiving Snackboxes, Decoy Detonators, Headless Hats and some others that Teddy didn't even know the names of yet), and even a Muggle digital camera (it took Teddy a good five guesses before he figured out what on earth the metal thing was).

They were all enjoying a slice of Teddy's chocolate extravaganza cake when Harry tapped Teddy lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey Teddy, can you come with me for a moment?" he said quietly.

Teddy looked at him nervously "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

Harry chuckled.

"No, you're not in trouble. I just want to give you something – privately."

Teddy nodded to show that he'd obey Harry and hopped off his chair to follow him upstairs. They were at the Potter's house for his party. Teddy always loved coming there because it was large and interesting enough for him to keep himself busy, yet not so vast that he felt intimidated and afraid to get a speck of dust on the rug. That and the fact that Harry's three children, James, Albus, and Lily were always fun to play with and bother.

Harry led Teddy to what seemed to be his and Ginny's bedroom. Teddy had never been in there seeing as the room was strictly off-limits in the Potter household, and he stood awkwardly at the doorway, careful not to touch anything while Harry rummaged for something in his desk drawers.

"It's here somewhere..." he muttered more to himself than anyone else, "I'm sure I put it in this one...if not then I'm royally...aha! Here it is!" he suddenly exclaimed, pulling out an old-looking, worn-out envelope not unlike the one the Hogwarts letter was delivered. All that was missing was the Hogwarts wax seal at the back.

"What is it?" Teddy asked as Harry handed him the envelope.

Harry just gave him a mysterious grin.

"Open it and see," he said.

Shrugging slightly, Teddy leaned against the doorframe and carelessly opened the letter. He thought he saw Harry wince slightly as he nearly tore the letter inside in half. The letter itself also looked very aged but was folded neatly, which contrasted with the quite messy handwriting it held. But whatever he had expected it to say, he never dreamed it would be something like this.

_My Dear Teddy,_

_Do you know how much self-restraint I had to have to not call you "Teddy Bear"? You have no idea. But as I'm writing this you're lying in your crib looking like an angel. My own personal teddy bear. Then again, I suppose all mothers feel this way about their children._

_Yes,__this is me, Nymphadora Lupin (my name still__isn't__personally acceptable), your mother. Your father is out at the moment, but I'll write for him as well. With that man you never know how long he'll be out...even though he swears he was the responsible one of his friends at school._

_All kidding aside though, I hope you know how much we love you, Teddy. I'll admit your father was a little scared and doubtful when he heard you were on the way but I have never seen a man dote so much over his child(except maybe James Potter, but that's another story). He won't even let anyone hold you unless he's at least three feet away from the person! He's such a wonderful (albeit a little overprotective) father._

_But sweetheart, I just want to tell you something, I don't know when this bloody war against Voldemort and his little_ _minions of evil is going to end, and I don't know if we'll actually live through it. I won't be surprised if you are reading this right now. That means I didn't live to see the end of this war. Although I pray I'll never have to leave you this, that I can say all these words to you in person, the odds of that happening are close to nill._

_Hopefully, if Harry (your Godfather, who I hope you're not driving insane) follows my instructions right, you'll get this on your_ _eleventh birthday. Consider it an extra treat to go with your Hogwarts letter which you'll undoubtedly get. Have fun at Hogwarts. I went there and it was possibly the best seven years of my life. A few pointers: watch out for Peeves, the poltergeist, don't get on McGonagall's bad side (it won't be pretty), and don't be afraid of a large man named Hagrid. He's a very nice person._

_I wish I could write more. I would write for pages and pages but I don't wish to bore you. And anyway, I think I hear your father coming home. So remember dear Teddy, your father and I love you. So__much._ _Don't let anyone make you think otherwise. And even if we may not be with you anymore, never ever think we'll truly leave you. Trust me, ask Harry about this and you'll understand. But hopefully you'll never have to do that._

_But for now I say goodnight my sweet, sweet Teddy._

_Your loving mother,_

_Nymphadora Lupin_

_P.S. Unless you want me to tell your Grandmother to ground you if you do, don't ever call me "Nymphadora"_

By the end of the letter, Teddy was holding it so tightly his fingers were numb and they left creases in the yellowish parchment. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from his mother's words.

_His mother._ The words sounded so foreign to him. In the eleven years he had lived he had not one shred of a memory left to him of his parents except a couple of old photographs. He'd always thought his mother was so eccentric in a way, with her hair always coloured bright pink or purple or every now and then, white-blonde. She was so different from his father, who looked much older and studious but with kind brown eyes and normal features. But now, he had actual words from his mother, actual proof that she was once alive and breathing and so was his father.

Without warning, a stinging sensation burned his eyes and he realized they were tears. He quickly tried to rub his eyes on his sleeve but to no avail. No matter how hard he tried, they just kept on coming.

Suddenly, Teddy felt warm arms enclose him in a hug. Harry held him tightly but said no words of comfort. Yet Teddy was glad for that. Only his Godfather knew the pain of not being able to remember his dead parents and wishing, if only for one measly hour, that they were alive so he could talk to them. Offers of condolences only flew past Teddy's ears, especially from somebody whose parents were still alive and well. That hug was all that needed to be passed between them, and it calmed Teddy more than any empty words could.

"Sorry," he mumbled into Harry's dress shirt.

"Whatever for?" Harry asked.

Teddy stepped away from his Godfather and vigorously wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"For breaking down like this. I'm a boy. Boys aren't supposed to cry," he mumbled, embarrassed.

Harry sighed and shook his head. He sat on his bed and motioned for Teddy to sit beside him. Teddy obeyed tentatively.

"Teddy, do you know how many times _I've_ cried over my parents?" Harry said. Teddy shook his head. "I don't know either. In fact, you're taking a sudden memory of your mother pretty well. It's nothing to be ashamed of if you want to cry over your dead parents. And Teddy," he said, putting a hand around Teddy's shoulder, "I know, everyone hates to hear this because it sounds so fake, but I _do_ know how you feel. It's the worst kind of feeling when you want desperately to miss someone but you can't because you never met them. And yet, you still shed tears because you think of the life you could've had if they were alive. Well, I can tell you something Teddy, you're lucky because it probably wouldn't have been that different in regards to how good it would be. Although I know nothing can replace the comfort of your own parents, you had the fortune of being raised by a loving grandmother and the care of your oh-so-amazing godfather," Teddy had to roll his eyes at this, "and his family all around you. I wasn't so lucky. The Dursleys weren't exactly a threat to the Weasleys in terms of family care. Be thankful for what you have, and know that your parents are never really far away. You probably think I'm talking crazy right now, but it's true. You'll realize that one day."

Teddy smiled "Thanks, Harry. Although, I have to admit that speech right there was kinda cheesy."

Harry snorted. "Hey, don't blame me, Hermione made me read all these inspirational novels of hers and they've etched themselves into my brain." There was a pause and then, "So, you feel like rejoining the party?"

Rubbing his fingers over the letter Teddy said, "Nah, I think I'll stay up here for a while, gather my thoughts together. I'll probably come down soon though."

Harry grinned and clapped Teddy's shoulder again.

"Whatever you want Teddy Bear." he said as he stood to leave.

Teddy's hair immediately turned scarlet.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." he said through gritted teeth.

Harry laughed and he opened the door.

"You remind me so much of your mother sometimes." he said, smirking. And with that Harry closed the bedroom door and the sound of his footsteps thudding down the stairs faded away slowly, leaving Teddy to his thoughts.

He never really gave his parents much thought during the day. He was always much too busy living in the moment and being as care-free as he wished. But later on, when night fell, thoughts of his parents plagued his brain and, unbeknownst to his grandmother, he even shed a tear or two. In these sad times, even his hair would change from his usual bright turquoise to a mousy brown which Harry always said looked "uncannily familiar" on him. And like Harry said, he always wondered what it would be like to have parents. All Teddy had were pictures of them, but they didn't even come close to filling the void in his heart that was unconsciously torn from him when his parents were killed.

In the end though, he supposed he should just accept what his life was now. As wonderful as magic was, it could not, in any way, raise the dead. And in the opinion of the wiser ones, it should be left that way.

But this was too much morbid thinking for a boy of his age to ponder. He should be downstairs right now celebrating his eleventh birthday and the fact that in a few more months he'll be off to Hogwarts where, they say, anything can happen.

Teddy sprung from the bed and hurried to the door. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he noticed the letter from his mother was still clutched in his hand. Teddy smiled. No matter whatever else he got, that letter was without a doubt the best birthday present he had received in his whole life.

END

A/N: Et voilà! There it is. Review and you'll get a yellow and red hairstyle for free! (Whether you want it or not XD)


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